“Thanks. Cooper loves these,” Jane said. “How are sales going for them?”
“Really good. I’ve been thinking about brand names, though I guess I might have some work to do on that.”
“Oh, really? Why do you need a brand name?” Jane asked.
Claire shrugged. “I don’t really, but maybe if I wanted to package them and sell them online or something. Unlike my pastries, they stay good for a while and could easily be shipped. I came up with a good name, but there might be a glitch.”
Rob had gone over to one of the racks to grab her loaves of bread, and he returned, handing them to Jane before slipping behind the counter to the cash register.
“What’s the glitch?” Jane fumbled in her purse for her card to pay Rob.
Claire sighed. “Well, I came up with the name Beach Bones, and I’ve had a few customers say that someone else is already using it.”
“Oh, and you have your mind set that it’s the name you want to use?” Jane asked.
Claire made a face. “Sort of.”
“You know how she is when she has her mind made up.” Rob smiled at Claire fondly. “But even if someone else is using it, you can too. Just make sure it’s not trademarked or anything.”
“I have Tammi looking into that.”
“Well, sounds like it should work itself out easily then. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.” Jane took her card back from Rob and left with her packages of bread and the dog biscuits.
She hesitated at the car, juggling everything she was carrying as she unlocked it. Her eyes drifted to the hardware store. She couldn’t help but think it was odd that both Mike and Andie had mentioned Smith in the hardware store. Not to mention she wondered what the guy was doing in there. Of course, it could have been a dozen things. Maybe he was picking something up for back home or needed some thumbtacks or to have a key made.Hopefully not the one for his room.Jane shook her head. Now she was starting to think like Bunny!
Of course, both Mike and Andie had dozens of reasons to be downtown too. Neither of them had been in the store. They’d just seen Mr. Smith… which meant they had been there at pretty much the same time. But that wasn’t so odd, was it? Her gaze drifted over the stores in view of the hardware store: the candy store, the frame store, the trinket store, the jewelry store—
Wait a minute… jewelry store.Her heart hitched. A few weeks ago, Mike had mentioned something to the effect of making their relationship more permanent. Liz had thought Andie and Mike were at Tides together. Addie had said Mike was asking about sizes and measurements. Could they all be conspiring over an engagement ring?
CHAPTEREIGHT
Early the next morning, Bunny plunged her hand into the little tide pool beside the rock on the beach. The water was freezing! She pulled out her hand, clutching the moon snail shell. No snail was inside, and it was perfect for her to use to capture the exact subtle colors of lavender and grayin her painting.
She dropped it into her tote bag and turned to face the ocean. The sun had come up an hour ago and it warmed her face. Taking a deep breath, she basked in the beauty of the ocean, the salty air, the sound of the waves, and the serenity of being the only one on the small beach.
Bunny loved this time of year. The cool air was refreshing, there were hardly any tourists, and the beaches were so peaceful. Especially the small ones along the Marginal Way, like the one she was on now. These beaches were sparsely populated even in summer, because they were covered with water when the tide came in.
There was something exciting about being the only one in sight, standing with the vast ocean in front of you—except, she wasn’t theonlyone there. A man was walking along the outcropping of rocks that formed a cliff a little ways down. It was a good spot; she’d walked there many times herself. From there, the wide river to the beach was visible. It was slippery up there, though. At high tide, the ocean splashed up over the rocks. She’d found starfish, sea urchins, and crabs up there. There was always a covering of slippery seaweed clinging to the rocks, and she’d fallen a few times.
She hoped the man didn’t fall.Hmm…He looked kind of familiar.
Bunny shaded her eyes and squinted to see better.Wait! Is that Mr. Smith? And what does he have in his hand?Something big and round.
She watched as he picked his way across the rocks. He stopped at the edge, looked over, then raised the round thing level with his shoulders before letting it drop.
Bunny gasped as it smashed on the jagged rocks below.
What in the world?
She watched as Mr. Smith then leaned over the side. He pulled something out of his pocket. A rope? A string? He slid it over the side, letting it down almost to the bottom.
Is he measuring?
A chill ran down Bunny’s spine. In the mystery book, the killer had counted the number of stairs it would take for the victim to become seriously hurt in much the same manner.
Was Mr. Smith plotting to push someone off the cliff? It wasn’t a tall cliff, only about twenty or thirty feet, but the rocks below would do a lot of damage. Just ask the cantaloupe that was now smashed to pieces on them.
Mr. Smith walked back to the path and disappeared.
